Defenders of the Force Episode 5: Return of a Padawan
by EsmeAmelia
Summary: With the Revolutionaries becoming a bigger threat to the galaxy, Ahsoka Tano offers her help to the Jedi. Fifth story in a series featuring Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, the droids, and OCs.


AN: Thanks to everyone who's been following this series.

"Defenders of the Force Episode 5: Return of a Padawan"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 1

"Try taking a few steps, young Miss Offee."

Tamyra Offee took a deep breath. The braces that the medical droids had fit around her legs felt like shackles that could cut off her circulation. From the other end of the healing ward she could hear Seri stomping around on his new artificial legs, which was making the floor vibrate slightly.

"Miss Offee, try to take a few steps," the medical droid repeated in her sweet voice.

After another deep breath, Tamyra made the attempt. It felt like she was lifting a weight with her ankle, but she managed to lift her foot off the floor and bring it down in front of her with a _stomp_ that made the floor vibrate harder.

"Very good," said the droid. "Now try again."

Tamyra took another calming breath, waving the new sensor her father had given her before taking another step, then another, then another.

"Tamyra!"

A grin formed on her face when she heard two familiar voices and felt two familiar Force-signatures running up to her. "Mae! Anakin!" she exclaimed. In a moment she felt herself being hugged from both sides, though her friends were careful not to touch her still-broken left arm.

"I drew a picture of you!" Anakin exclaimed as Tamyra heard the crackle of paper next to her ear. "I even went over it with glue so you could feel it."

After clipping her sensor to her belt, Tamyra reached up and ran her good hand over the paper, feeling the bumps that formed her face, grinning as she did so. "That's so sweet, thank you Anakin."

"It's a great day to come back to class," said Anakin. "Master Uma says we're _finally _gonna use _lightsabers_ today!"

_"And,"_ said Mae, "there's a special guest coming to the temple today. Big event, my dad even cancelled all afternoon classes for it."

Tamyra twisted her mouth. "It sounds great . . . but now that I can walk again my dad can come take me out of school."

Mae and Anakin were silent for a moment before Anakin put his warm hand on Tamyra's shoulder. "Well, don't worry about it right now," he said. "You've got at least _one_ more day of school. Besides, you're dad's gonna have to get through _us _if he wants to take you away."

. . .

"Welcome, everyone!" 3PO said at the beginning of Jedi History class. "This is a most exciting day for all of us. Oh, and I see Miss Tamyra is back with us!" He waved in Tamyra's direction. "Hello, Miss Tamyra! It is so splendid to see you again. I know Mistress Mae and Master Anakin missed you _very _much."

R2 beeped impatiently.

"Yes R2, I was about to say that," said 3PO before addressing the class again. "This afternoon, we will be recieving a special visitor. Not only was she a member of the old Jedi Order, but she was apprenticed to Anakin Skywalker himself! Yes, today we are going to meet Miss Ahsoka Tano!"

R2 projected a large hologram of Ahsoka, generating _ooohs _and _ahhs_ from the class. She was a young Torgruta woman holding her lightsaber in a horizontal stance, her white-marked face determined, her headstalks brushed over her shoulders.

"She has recently published her autobiography," 3PO continued, "entitled _Life as the Chosen One's Padawan, _which she will be reading from this afternoon. The event will be open to the public, so you may bring along any family and friends who wish to attend."

"Is your dad coming?" Anakin whispered to Tamyra.

"I don't know," said Tamyra, sinking a little in her seat. "I hope he doesn't."

"So in honor of this very special occasion," said 3PO, "we will be learning about Ahsoka Tano today. R2, what should we teach them first? The destruction of the Malevolence? The Geinosian brain worms? The Battle of Mon Calamari? Oh, this is so exciting! It makes me wish I knew her."

R2 beeped in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Why yes R2, what a splendid idea," said 3PO, turning to face the class. "We shall begin with how Ahsoka was first selected to be Anakin Skywalker's padawan and the first adventure they shared."

. . .

"Ahsoka sounds incredible," Tamyra said as she and her friends made their way to the lightsaber training room.

"Yeah," said Mae. "I hope I can ask her stuff about my grandfather."

"Do you think she knew my aunt?" Tamyra asked.

"Nevermind that," said Anakin, bouncing a little as he walked. "Right now we're gonna be using LIGHTSABERS!"

Master Uma was standing in the center of the training room when the trio arrived behind their other classmates, her blonde hair braided into a tight bun on top of her head and her hands on her hips.

"Good morning, trainees," she said in a rather gruff voice. "As you know, this is the day you've all been waiting for. Personally, I think you need more physical training, but since his son went missing Master Skywalker wants you to be able to defend yourselves, so we're going to be using lightsabers today."

A cheer went through the crowd before Master Uma's glare hushed them.

"Now," she said, removing her own lightsaber from her belt, "you all may think the lightsaber is simply a cool weapon that you can show off to your friends, but you'd be wrong." She pressed the button, releasing the shimmering blue blade with its low hum. "The lightsaber is a deadly force, capable of slicing your foes in half." She leaned forward, assuming a battle stance, gracefully swinging the lightsaber from side to side, a slow-motion battle with an invisible opponent. "When in battle, you must use the blade as an extension of your very self. You must feel the Force's energy flowing from you to the blade. In combat, you, the Force, and the blade are one."

"Yeah yeah, we _know _that," said Sylia, a Torgruta girl who was tapping her foot impatiently.

Master Uma spun around and pointed the blade in Sylia's direction. "_Don't_ be foolish, young one. When you're in battle this weapon can be the only thing that saves you from a gruesome death, so pay attention."

Sylia gulped.

"Now," Master Uma continued, deactivating her lightsaber, "as you know, the lightsabers we have here are weaker than regular ones. You won't have to worry about your arms being hacked off for _now,_ but when the time comes, you will be building your own lightsabers, and _those _will be dangerous." She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "So, who wants to be the first to try the good old-fashioned remote practice?"

Almost every hand in the class went up. Master Uma reached out in front of her and made a slow humming noise, as if she were pretending to use the Force. "Hmmm . . . hmmm . . . "

"Pick me, Master Uma, pick me!" Anakin shouted.

"Hmmm . . ." the master continued,". . . hmmm . . . why don't we pick . . . the blind trainee?"

Tamyra was one of the few students who wasn't raising her hand, so she gasped rather noticeably when Master Uma picked her. "Master Uma, I've missed a lot of classes, I've been bedridden for a while, I don't think I'm physically fit . . ."

"That won't matter for this exercise," said Master Uma. "All you have to do is block the remote's blasts with your lightsaber - you can do that, can't you?"

"I probably could if I could _see_ the remote," said Tamyra.

Master Uma laughed as if it were all one big joke. "Hasn't Master Skywalker ever told you about _his _first time with a lightsaber? How he had to do this with a blast shield covering his eyes? Now _you_ won't even need the helmet, isn't that neat?"

Master Uma took Tamyra's hand and led her to the center of the room, Tamyra's leg braces _clomping_ across the floor.

"You can do it, Tamyra!" Mae called.

Once they were in the center of the room, Master Uma plucked Tamyra's sensor off her belt. "No sensor allowed. For this exercise you must rely on the Force."

"Was I chosen so you could humiliate the blind girl?" Tamyra asked.

Master Uma ignored her question as she handed the Mirialan a trainee lightsaber. "Feel the cold metal under your fingers," she said in a sultry voice. "Feel the power within."

Tamyra squeezed the handle with her good hand while awkwardly using her other hand to support it.

"That's good," said the master. "Now activate the blade."

After taking a deep breath, Tamyra pushed the button, sending a green blaze out of the handle.

"Good," Master Uma continued. "_Feel_ the power you hold."

"It's . . . hot," Tamyra breathed. "And _heavy."_

"Yes it is," said Master Uma, tossing a small remote in her hand. "Now, stop the remote's blasts."

With no further warning, she activated the remote and threw it in Tamyra's direction. Tamyra gasped and raised the blade in front of her, but no blast came.

"You can't just swing it around willy-nilly," scolded Uma. "You have to _feel _when the remote will attack."

The remote fired, striking Tamyra in the arm, making her cry out.

"You can do it," Mae repeated.

The Mirialan took a deep breath, but in the time required to take it, the remote struck her hip.

"You're relying too much on your ears," called Uma. "You need to rely on the _Force."_

Tamyra tried several more times without success. At first she was able to calm herself with deep breaths, but after the seventh miss she started growling in frustration.

"Come on, come on," said Master Uma, clapping her hands in rhythm. "This was the first thing Master Skywalker had me do with a lightsaber and I aced it. Now try again."

The Mirialan gulped. "Master Uma, I don't think I can do this."

The teacher glared at her. "If you can't do something as simple as this, then how do you _ever_ expect to survive in battle?"

"I don't expect to go _into_ battle!" Tamyra retorted. "Aren't the Jedi supposed to be _peacekeepers?_"

Master Uma twisted her mouth and with one swift motion she poked Tamyra's broken arm, making her cringe. "With the Revolutionary attacks going on, you may be going into battle _very soon._ The Jedi may be peacekeepers, but sometimes fighting is necessary." She folded her arms. "Now try again."

Anakin raised his hand. "Master Uma, when are the _rest _of us gonna try the lightsabers?"

"Not until she gets it right," replied Uma.

The class groaned.

. . .

As it turned out, Tamyra didn't block a blast until five minutes before class ended, which meant there was only enough time for the class to practice holding lightsabers, which Mae was still thinking about as she and her friends made their way to lunch. When she was younger her parents' lightsabers had been off-limits, but she managed to sneak a touch a few times, so it didn't surprise her that they were heavy. What did surprise her was how the energy from the blade seemed to make her body tingle, as if her midichlorians were connecting to it.

"That was _ridiculous!"_ Anakin was saying. "Why'd Master Uma have to make all of us wait that long?"

"Because she wanted to embarrass me in front of everyone," said Tamyra, walking unevenly in her braces. "Because I'm a _blind_ Jedi."

Mae gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Tamyra, I don't think that's why . . ."

"It's just like with my parents," Tamyra interrupted. "They don't think a _blind _Jedi can defend herself, so they look for the first excuse to send me home." She reached up and pushed Mae's hand off her shoulder. "I had to beg them just to come here in the first place."

Now it was Anakin putting his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, my dad saved Lando when he was blind. Blind people can do lots of awesome things, and you're gonna be an awesome Jedi."

Tamyra took a deep breath. "Thanks, but try telling my dad that."


End file.
